Economic Commission: The revenue of Kabul Traffic Department should be returned to the Ministry of Interior

March 27, 2022

The Economic Commission, chaired by the First Deputy Prime Minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, decided that the "Macroryan Care and Protection State Company" should take 6 Afghani per square meter as sewage management costs from the Azizi Plaza building belonging to Onyx Company and two separately built B1 and B2 blocks in Macroryan, which was 10 Afghani before this. Residents of the Azizi Plaza building and the Macroryan blocks complained that they could not afford to pay 10 AFG per square meter for the sewage management.

In addition to Macroryan, the Macroryan Care and Protection State Company provides sewage, water supply, and green space services to other townships and high-raised commercial and residential buildings in Kabul.

The commission also held detailed discussions on setting up a joint customs services center on the border with Pakistan in the Shamalzai district of Zabul province and the matter was handed over to the Ministry of Urban Development for further clarification to complete its comprehensive research and submit its report to the Economic Commission.

The Pakistani side has repeatedly requested the construction of this customs, which has now been handed over to the Ministry of Urban Development of the Islamic Emirate for its construction and mapping. Through this custom, the residents of Paktika, Ghazni, and Zabul provinces will be able to export their goods and agricultural products to Pakistan and will be able to formally import goods from there.

The commission also decided that the revenue of the Kabul Traffic Department, which was previously credited to the Kabul Municipality budget, would be credited back to the revenue of the Ministry of Interior; and if the Kabul Municipality faced a budget deficit, the Ministry of Finance would allocate the same budget for them as directed by the commission.

The Kabul Traffic Department, which is actually under the administration of the Ministry of Interior, but under previous administration for corruption purposes its revenue was given to the Kabul Municipality, and the Kabul Municipality, in return, provided some municipal services in Kabul.

The Economic Commission of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan adds that in addition to insuring transparency in Kabul Municipality's revenue collection, if the Kabul Municipality faces a budget shortfall in the delivery of municipal services, the Ministry of Finance will provide them the necessary budget.